Alexithymia and body image disturbances in women with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder

• Published in: Journal of psychosomatic obstetrics and gynaecology Vol. 26; no. 4; pp. 257 - 264
• Main Authors: De Berardis, Domenico, Campanella, Daniela, Gambi, Francesco, Sepede, Gianna, Carano, Alessandro, Pelusi, Lucia, La Rovere, Raffaella, Di Matteo, Danilo, Salini, Gabriele, Cotellessa, Carla, Salerno, Rosal Maria, Ferro, Filippo Maria
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Informa UK Ltd 01.12.2005; Taylor & Francis; Parthenon; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Affective Symptoms - diagnosis; Affective Symptoms - epidemiology; alexithymia; Biological and medical sciences; body dissatisfaction; body image; Body Mass Index; Depression; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; Female; Female genital diseases; Gynecology. Andrology. Obstetrics; Humans; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Mood disorders; Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder; Premenstrual Syndrome - epidemiology; Premenstrual Syndrome - psychology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Severity of Illness Index; Somatoform Disorders - epidemiology; Somatoform Disorders - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Tumors; Mood disorder; Human; Menstruation disorders; body dissatisfaction; Body image; Dysphoria; Alexithymia; Satisfaction; Anxiety disorder; Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder; Depression; Personality; Female genital diseases; Symptomatology; Female; Premenstrual syndrome
• ISSN: 0167-482X; 1743-8942
• DOI: 10.1080/01674820500109081

Background. To evaluate alexithymia and body image in women with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder and test whether alexithymic traits influence severity of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder or body distress. Methods. Sixty-four consecutive women with a DSM-IV diagnosis of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder and age range of 18-45 were recruited. Alexithymia was measured with the Italian version 20-items Toronto Alexithymia Scale. Severity of premenstrual mood symptoms was measured through the use of Visual Analogue Scales. Body concerns were assessed with the Body Uneasiness Test, Body Shape Questionnaire and Body Attitude Test. Additional measures were Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and Sheehan Disability Scale. Results. Prevalence of alexithymia in our sample was 31.3% (n = 20). Alexithymics showed higher scores on all rating scales (p range 0.001-< 0.001). Difficulty in Identifying Feelings and Difficulty in Describing Feelings subscales of Toronto Alexithymia Scale were predictors of severity of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder in the multiple linear regression analysis. Conclusions. Alexithymia was associated with more severe Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder. Alexithymic women with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder exhibited significantly poorer appearance evaluation and body satisfaction than non-alexithymic women.